I felt guilty for not liking this show.

I tried 3 viewings and it just seemed dumb.

Thanks for the review !

John Gentry

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You lost me at fakokta. Best show on TV.

Tom Lehr

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Totally agree, Bob. Refreshing to hear a like-minded take. Everyone I’ve talked to LOVES this thing. I don’t get it. It’s a thoroughly decent show. The cast is good and the humor is pretty fun, but comes at the expense of the horror element. You can’t have it both ways. And the 300 year flashback was a huge miss. Lost all momentum and the humor didn’t translate either.

Trevor Dauten

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I thought it was hysterical and creepy and specific and atmospheric. And smart!

Not for everyone though, I’ll allow.

Jacob Moon

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LOVED IT, thought it was fantastically funny and dark humour horror. I slogged through the series week by week and agree, the mushroom episode was particularly hysterical. I am a fan of quirky shows and this one hit the spot with clever writing and interesting characters. Way to go Apple.

Margaret Hamamoto

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I understand what you’re saying. Those two episodes were hilarious and there were some other fine and funny moments, performances, not to mention plot holes. The acting and humor is what puts this show on the map.  Watching Matthew Rhys’s face when the founder was eating the Vienna sausages was mint. Stephen Root was great throughout. My wife said the show reminded her of Lost and I can see that and hope it doesn’t go too far down that road. At least it’s very funny. It’s pretty good escapism.

Harold Love

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I thought it was entertaining, nothing more. Gave me a bit of a JAWS vibe with the mayor insisting everything is fine, we can’t cancel summer and so on. Matt Rhys was phenomenal in the Beast In Me, which is why I wanted to see Widow’s Bay.

Derek Beere

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I couldn’t keep up with the villains: a sea hag, the guy they exhumed (couldn’t tell if he was a villain), the Halloween Michael Myers guy, the weather, the crawling creature from the night in the hotel and whatever was in the basement in the finale.

The scene where the old woman sketches out the family lineage on an overhead projector that went on and on and on was perhaps the most annoying scene in television history for me.  It seemed like an attempt at humor but we got the point 30 or so seconds in, why keep it going for what seemed like an eternity?

Outside of that Matthew Rhys is a terrific actor.

John J. Petrocelli

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With all due respect I couldn’t disagree more. This was the most fun I’ve had watching a tv series in quite awhile. I found the mix of comedy and horror perfect and I’m not particularly a fan of horror. I rewatched each of the episodes at least once just to catch things that I’d missed. The show was created by Katie Dippold who was a writer for Parks and Recreation and the office humor is very reminiscent of that show.
The homages to Jaws and Halloween and Lost are just a few of the treats here. From your review I can’t really understand why you are so strongly against it but to each their own. I will add that I enjoy a weekly drop of a show. Like The Pitt my wife and I looked forward to each new episode and didn’t feel rushed into watching episodes back to back and we got more out of them.
Enjoy your emails and appreciate your opinions even when I disagree.

Kevin Bennett

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I actually thought there were a couple of good episodes. There was some good tension in there, and I really didn’t mind some of the baloney that was happening… I think the reality is that they’re dragging it out to 10 episodes when they could easily bring it down to eight. I think the episodes are too short and that’s why they turn it into Ten shows… they should each be 15 minutes long and bring it down to eight.. my wife and I never watch week two week anymore.. we wait till there’s at least 3/4 of the episodes done before we’ll watch it.. and I think that gets us into the show more.. so at that point, I really can’t go and kill it because we’ve gotten into a flow  with it. Still much bigger hyped than what it was worth..

Peace,

Jason Miles

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I enjoyed it! It’s not that unusual to have a show / movie that is crepey but has humorous moments.  Knives out for example. I know tons of ppl who love it

Evan Rogers

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I’m sorry you hated it — God knows I’ve invested time in streaming shows that I wished I had back — but “Widow’s Bay” is my favorite show in years, full stop. Once my wife and I found out the episodes dropped at 9pm EST Tuesdays, we planned the night around it in old-school Appointment Television fashion.

I can’t recall seeing a show that balances multiple tones and tensions so skillfully, with the scares landing as effectively as the gags. The acting is laser-focused from the leads to the secondary characters, and the world-building shows thought and care.

And this is why I appreciate reading what you have to say, ‘cos I am fully and completely surprised that this didn’t land for you. But that’s the nice thing about this moment in time — on to the next show.

Best, Erick Haight

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We couldn’t figure out WHAT this show was supposed to be, genuinely creepy or creepy funny. I thought the last episode wth Ruth, unsinkable “I will be leaving work at 3” Ruth, was great, and of COURSE it was stingy at the end set up Season 2.

The party reveal with Patricia’s punch recipe and instructions was hilarious.

But most importantly, I now know how to spell “fakokta.” Boning up on my Yiddish glossary!

Cheers,

Henry Eshelman

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Don’t go all meshuga on me here, but I believe it’s actually spelled Fakakta. 🙂

Harry Levy

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It was slow.  Weird. Incomprehensible at times.  Uneven acting.

That’s said it had just enough to finish it.  Could I recommend it?  Not really.

Would I watch season 2?  When there is so little to watch at times and searching gets to be such a drag, at times?  Maybe.

Larry Lootsteen

Waterloo, ON

Canada

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Wish you had written this BEFORE I watched it, Bob. What a waste and had to be one of the most disappointing finales I’ve ever seen.

Brad Ketchum III

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Watched it and loved it. Just the right amount of wry humor, wit, spooky stuff and jump scares  (but not gratuitously gory like 90% of the mediaverse.  Rhys plays it straight and all of the characters are quirky and wonderful. What’s a matter with you Bob? I usually agree with all of your recommendations.

Cathy Hausman in Mamaroneck

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Well you can’t be right about everything, but I really liked Widow’s Bay.

Gary Wisner

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The self contained episode 6 was the beginning of the end. Downhill from that point onwards. Can’t get that time back

Andrew Richardson

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The plot came full circle for me when the bloodline reveal happened. That came out of nowhere and was perfectly executed. The fact that it sets up a new season is irrelevant to me. If the show ended forever after this season, I’d be fully satisfied. Not fond of “endings” to begin with. I like a dangling cliffhanger.

Steve Schalchlin

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I think you’re in idiot if you don’t like this show.

It’s X-Files in its balance and Rhys and the supporting cast balance horror and comedy brilliantly.

The whole “he was taken by the fog” bit in episode one was worth the cost of admission. It gets better though if you’re willing to wait until the evil hostess party bit. How is that not the perfect balance of funny and macabre?

Trey Zenker – NYC

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It’s the worst – started off ok jumped the zombie shark and got stoopid fast – watch it win awards with a big awareness campaign and cringe away.

Luke Joerger

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We always line up Bob…I feel the same way about Widow’s Bay.

Sam Jones

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I really tried to watch this show because I really liked Rhys in that Netflix show “The Beast in Me” w Claire Danes. Rhys was really good in that.

But the first episode of “Widow’s Bay” was so slow and so not funny that my wife and I just could not get through it.

We just looked at each other and said “nah” and then we watched a 10 year old episode of “SVU” and we were much happier.

thanks,
Mark Feldman

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Anyone who doesn’t like this show:
1. Has terrible taste
2. Missed half of it because they were on their phone.

It’s the funniest show I ever seen in a long time. Give Kate O’Flynn the Emmy now.

Ben Nesvig

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This is a series that flummoxed us. Some amazing episodes. Some downright ridiculous (digging up the old mayor for example. But the end. How can this be? A cliffhanger is one thing, but this ending resolved nothing. Felt like a waste.

Bob Menzies

Vancouver Island

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I watched it walking on the treadmill to pass time. My wife asked me if it was good. I told her only if there is nothing else to watch.

David Schurr

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I wanted to like it but when they had a 500 year old person it jumped the shark!

Randy Wind

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OMG Bob, we couldn’t agree more! We just finished the last two episodes and were so happy to read your view since we kept saying throughout both “This is SOOOO BO-RING”!

Also agree that the two episodes you highlighted were amusing, as was the homage to Michael Myers. Though the latter was primarily because of Kate O’Flynn, who was great throughout.

Probably won’t bother with S2, since you know that Tom will never throw that trolley switch…

Milton Lewin

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Wisdow’s Bay was everything that you said and more. The writing was on the whole terrific- why – because it focused on “character,” unique, specific, and most off them a mix of tragic and comic, unusual. And it was very funny… until it got scary. Then it got scary and did that well. So it was intentionally a hybrid genre w/a mixed tone.  Not easy to do, yet they pulled it off for the most part. I did agree with you that in the end there was a big “huh”, a let down or a “so what” factor. That was disappointing. It needed to be more of a whammy so to speak. Just FYI Hitchcock said he wouldn’t embark on a narrative unless it had 13 whammies (major story beats – like first leavening that the island is cursed). This is why Tarrantino says that series aren’t nearly as satisfying as features except for the great series because they can just go on and not commit. Remember the end of season one of Fleabag. It’s an f’n whammy of a higher order, an epiphany. This one went out “not with a bang, but a whimper.” I still thought the writing and directing and acting were terrific, but if an ending doesn’t pay off big-time, as Ricky Ricardo says “you’ve got some ‘splaining to do.”

Howie Wiseman
former cellist with rock band Lighthouse
associate professor emeritus, screenwriting

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Yeah I made it about 1.5 episodes and then Tapped out

Jason Taylor

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I loved it and surprised that you did not mention the character Dale. Patricia was terrific. But Dale was done so well, so over the top, such great dour expressions and in that season finale, RUN! I think I peed my pants.

Roy Pascarella

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Couldn’t agree more! Watched the first episode and couldn’t buy in. Matthew Reyes is one of my favorite actors, but this series is a waste of time.

Keith Bishop

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not a big fan of this, and of horror ghost stuff, but bc of reviews and rhys I watched.  I agree, there are some epiosodes I really enjoyed, and it did start out slow, I almost gave up. but its not bad and i liked it much better than  4 seasons-i didnt love S1 and gave up on S2 pretty quickly

Brian Barry Esq.

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Sometimes I feel we are not experiencing  the same show or same recordings.

Other times I think you’re in my room watching the same show or listening to the same record  but in this case, if you don’t think that K  Callan AS RUTH  doesn’t deserve an Emmy for her performance in the finale and that the show doesn’t set up season two absolutely perfectly Then you and I are absolutely not on the same Jimi page!

Morley Bartnoff

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This is a show where your really need to put your phone down.  There are so many quiet little throwaways that are hysterical.

Tim Redman

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It’s a comedy first, not second. If you saw it that way from the start you may have enjoyed it more. It’s one of the better shows Ive seen in years.

Bob Kalill

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Thanks, Bob, for confirming my initial thoughts on the show after watching 2 episodes.

So we left it and have gone back to some classic movies and shows.

Watched Midnight Cowboy, Taxi Driver, Apocolypse Now, Godfather 1, 2, 3 and are currently watching Deadwood (on season 3 and then the movie) and The Wire is next on our list. We’ve seen all of these before, they are so good they are worth watching again.

And so much better than Widow’s Bay.

Best Wishes,

Jim Wills

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I could barely get past your first line which included the word fakokta.. I heard it many times growing up but have never thought how it was spelled..thanks for the laugh!! Maybe I’ll watch Widows Bay, maybe not.

Best,

Dayle Levy

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Bob – I will accept farkakte, ferkakte,  nothing less

deborah wilker

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Widow’s Bay season 1 was fun enough but all the hoopla I see online about it is overkill. I’m a fan of Stephen King style horror and loved how the show runners didn’t take themselves too seriously. They have fun with the classic horror tropes, there is some great comedy and characters, and some truly frightening bits. But, ultimately, I agree that sometimes the show just fell flat and dragged. The “twist” was easy to spot from a mile away.

This isn’t on the same level of a Breaking Bad, Sopranos, the Wire, or even Severance, etc. It’s good, not great…yet. I’ll definitely see how Season 2 shapes up. Perhaps this show will get stronger with more seasons.

Sean Geraty

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I loved Widows Bay. I thought it was a hoot. And I loved it precisely because it kept me offkilter the entire time. The show has an inspired cast, but for me what distinguishes it is the writing. It’s really fresh and confident and I appreciate all the left turns.

I know you’re really down on streamers that dole out content week by week but sometimes it works to let us savor a good show. It becomes “appointment television” and the anticipation is part of the fun.

TomKB

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It’s a terrific show. The build in the conversation week by week is a big part of its success. You’re missing the podcast tv world which has become a major aspect of marketing and analysis. It’s fine if it’s not for you. I’ll say the ending was not as strong, I’ll give you that. All the best from Delaware!

Ron Ozer

Programming – Elkton Music Hall

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The only thing this waste of time revealed is that it is abject garbage… Good morning Bob

Charles Michael Green

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Thanks Bob,

I wasn’t sure how I felt, but fakokta sums it up nicely…

J.B. Brenner

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It’s one of those shows (the majority of shows nowadays) which are neither good nor bad.

They are beige.

But yeah, Rhys is a very fine actor.

And I ain’t watching Cape Fear. If Javier Bardem is boycotting Israel, well, I am boycotting you back, you…(expletive of your own choosing.)

All love,

Baptiste-Elias Piégay-Natanson

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I don’t know what ‘fakokta’ means, but it *sounds* like a perfect description of this show. We just finished watching the finale and sat there looking at each other thinking “we spent how many hours watching this fakokta?”

You expect resolution, with maybe a hint that there could be another season. Not this time. No, most things unresolved, and new clues(what happened to the guy in the shelter basement?. The reveal about Tom’s son. Is Ruth still alive?

I did enjoy the acting, particularly Kate O’Flynn, and of course Stephen Root (whom you didn’t mention).

I’ll watch season 2, if there is one.

Phil Schawe

PS – OK I looked it up:  messed up, ridiculous, broken, or utterly foolish

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You asked, I actually liked it. Some episodes better than others. Betty Gilipin, always watchable and the Boogeyman episode was tense. It was an original story line.  So much of the same stuff on streaming, this was different.  4 out of 5 stars.

Alan Segal

Tune in June 20th to Faction Talk, channel 103, at 4 PM East, 1 PM West.

Phone #: 844-686-5863

If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app. Search: Lefsetz

Did you watch this fakokta show?

I have a policy. If Felice wants to watch something, I will give it a shot, assuming the show has high Rotten Tomatoes ratings and is fully available.

“Widow’s Bay” has EXCELLENT Rotten Tomatoes ratings, 98/93, and you know I’ll watch anything that exceeds 80. And, it finished last night, the tenth episode aired June 17th.

God help you if you took two months to watch this show week by week. I’d be tearing my hair out, waiting for a big reveal… There is a bit of a buildup, but then, in classic non-American streaming style, there’s not complete resolution because they’re setting it up for a second season!

So what we’ve got here is Keri Russell’s husband, Matthew Rhys, as mayor of an island off the Maine coast, Widow’s Bay. Who would’a thunk that Felicity would turn into one of our finest actresses, starring in A-level product like “The Diplomat”? And she met Rhys doing another great series, “The Americans,” and now I pay attention to him too.

So the bottom line is Widow’s Bay is haunted.

So this is a horror show, right?

Well, that’s something you’re debating from square one, you’re flummoxed by the tone. Am I supposed to be scared or should I be laughing? Should I take this seriously?

Rhys wants to increase tourism, but many residents believe the island is haunted. Is it?

Well, it appears that it is. And they even go back hundreds of years, they spend an entire episode delineating the curse, with Betty Gilpin as a mail order bride and… It’s so whacked. Just coming up with this. I give the producers credit, but I’m not exactly sure how it all fits together.

And in many ways it doesn’t. But there are episodes.

Actually, there are two…

One involves Kate O’Flynn as Patricia Moyer, Rhys’s assistant. O’Flynn looks like a cross between Illeana Douglas and Shelley Duvall. She’s got a bit of a weak chin, and she’s not classically beautiful, but she’s dedicated to her job, you can count on her…

But she’s an outcast. The hip group of girls she grew up with on the island want nothing to do with her. This is such a great demonstration of this paradigm…

That’s how the world works. There are insiders and outsiders. And some of these outsiders are happy in their backwaters, but a lot of these outsiders just wish they could be in the inside group.

But they don’t understand the inside group dynamics. Which are based on groupthink, usually signaled by a leader. You fawn and get along, color outside the lines and you’re ostracized.

And then there are those who are aware they’re not in the hip group, but they just can’t understand why, like Patricia.

So she stumbles on a book that says if you throw a party you’ll be popular and… If you ever went to high school, you’ll wince. Assuming you were not one of the insiders.

And then there’s the episode with the shaman. This is utterly hysterical. I mean I couldn’t stop laughing (and at certain other times in this show too, when it wasn’t flat or I wasn’t scared or…) The mayor and Patricia and Wyck go to see Chris Fleming as Todd O’Connor, because they want to know about the mushrooms the pastor ate…

Oh, you’ve been there. But this is on an island! The guy with the long hair, with a drawer full of drugs, and the jargon…

This isn’t dark drug dealer. This guy isn’t about earning millions, but enlightenment. Just talk to someone who’s done ayahuasca. They describe a religious experience. And it’s all led by a shaman, like this guy. They take it so seriously, as if they have the answer and you don’t. But this is played for laughs, and I was more than chuckling, tears were nearly coming to my eyes.

And those episodes, #4 and #5, “Beach Reads” and “What to Expect on Your Trip,” are worth the price of your time. I thought they were a turn in the arc, that the series had hit its stride, sometimes it takes a few episodes to find the groove. But this was not the case.

So, if you start this show and it feels a bit dry, if it doesn’t strike your funny bone or maintain your interest or…

STOP!

I do not even recommend you start. Despite the hype, stay away from this show, you will want your time back.

And I’m scratching my head… Does everything on Apple get a pass? Is this the Emperor’s New Clothes? I mean the creators were taking some risks, but that does not mean the end result is worth it.

What did you think?

Universal and Warner are public companies. Sony is too, but it’s part of a larger enterprise and it’s hard to parse out the financial details, and stockholders judge the overall performance of the conglomerate, not just the music division, but…

Wall Street evaluates Universal and Sony and what they see is a huge expenditure on new music for very little return. All the money today is in catalog.

Now let’s be clear, it’s not all deep catalog, sometimes the tracks are not that old, but the truth is new music keeps declining in market share. But the majors keep investing in it.

Obviously they’re doing something wrong.

And Wall Street is all about the numbers, they see the red ink and want to stanch it, they want to separate new from old, they want to be more like Primary Wave, which is only built on hits.

But the three traditional majors are set in amber, they keep wanting to do it the same way. Albeit on a narrower basis.

You see the majors are in the hit business. But not just any hit, but moonshots. They want something mega-successful, because of the opportunity cost. They don’t want bunts, they don’t even want singles, they want grand slams!

Well, the way you do this is to find an act in a popular genre…

This is the problem. Which doesn’t occur to those who only became aware in the last few decades. Sure, there was a pop hit business prior to the Beatles, but starting in the late sixties and into the seventies it was all about the outside, innovation, album rock. Never forget, “Stairway to Heaven” was never a single, and it’s the most popular rock song of all time, at least according to radio.

Then again, radio is nearly meaningless in terms of breaking records today, but the labels are still fully staffed, working stations, should this line item be cut?

If it’s not working in tech, you eliminate it. In tech it’s always about pushing the envelope, in music it’s about looking backwards, doing it the same way as always.

So, in a pop world it’s all about the track as opposed to the album/body of work/career. And most of the classic acts took a while to develop, to gain traction. Yes had three albums before “Roundabout.” Joni Mitchell had three before “Blue.” This was the paradigm. Find someone with innate talent and nurture them.

But today there’s no nurturing, never mind looking.

Today labels are not looking for talent, they’re looking for success. Someone with more than a blip on the radar screen. Someone with followers… The label says they can blow up, amplify what the act has already achieved. But what underlies that success is irrelevant.

And if you enter our system, i.e. the major label system, we’ll plug you in to writers and producers and mixers, we’ll make your music palatable to the masses, we’re experts.

But this formula is the antithesis to what blew up this business. Which is left field auteurs doing it their way.

So if the major labels want to stay in the new music business, they should have longer term plans. They should get ahead of the marketplace. They should sign acts that are unique, that have something to say, that are self-contained, that they can be nurtured and developed over a period of years.

But that’s too heavy a lift, they want to do it the old way, their way.

Which is why new music should be separated from old music. Literally split up into two companies. Unless the three majors totally rejigger music and artist development.

Fire almost all of the radio staff. Yup, bite the bullet. Even if a track succeeds on radio… That’s no longer where the active listeners are. And it’s active listeners who sustain this business.

Look for self-contained acts. Period. Don’t look for acts you can mold.

And then you can do press, but really, it’s about capturing hearts and minds.

HOW DO YOU DO THIS?

Not the usual way. There’s no innovation. If an act is so good, do a pop-up. It’s about alternative marketing. If you’ve got something worth attention you popularize it on YouTube/TikTok and Instagram Reels, all of which are free.

You must take an holistic approach. The music is only part of it, there’s the act’s identity and how they connect with the public. Furthermore, what works more than ever is honesty and credibility, which is one of the reasons that hip-hop is fading in the marketplace. It owned honesty and credibility, it eclipsed rock which forfeited it, but now hip-hop has become a cartoon and the audience wants Noah Kahan.

Flash is passé. TMZ is passé. Music is the other. If it’s competing for attention with the rest of media, it’s screwed.

This only works if the acts do a 180. If they can say no instead of yes to so much…endorsements/sponsorships and fashion and… The music must be paramount, the more the creator is seen as a regular person, the better. And in today’s marketplace, you must not have airs, you must not think you’re better than the hoi polloi. Also, momentary is not worth much. Too much of today’s music is memes. Which are literally here today and gone tomorrow. No, we need music that speaks truth and lasts.

But what we’ve got is divas and wankers as the major labels drive their enterprises over a cliff and indies slowly gobble up market share.

New music must be self-sustaining, and this requires huge cost cuts and reimagination of the model. Today you start very small and employ kindling to grow. It’s the antithesis of the MTV era, where if you got on the service you were known by seemingly everybody around the world. Today you can be a hit artist and not be known by the majority of the public, this is not going to change, this is now.

Stop telling the public that they must love two-dimensional stars like Ariana Grande. And for all the people who love Taylor Swift, there’s a larger cadre who want nothing to do with her. But the industry keeps pounding these pop acts down the public’s throat, to the detriment of the overall industry.

Think of records as statements, as exploratory work, building the story over time. Don’t think of records as instant hits. Most of what is instant is not worth remembering.

So either the majordomos at the three majors wake up and make changes in new music, or their owners, the public, will break them up for value. Which would be better than the existing system. Because then new music companies, without catalog to sustain them, would be more nimble, cost-effecient and innovative.

The Street is right. Universal’s stock will continue to be depressed until the new music problem is solved. And it won’t be by trying to convince investors that the company’s present strategy is correct, but by changing it.

Over the last two decades, music has abdicated its cultural power to streaming television. That’s where the innovation is. That’s where you’re surprised. But not in music.

There needs to be planning. Long term thinking. Investment in projects that will pay dividends for decades.

Or Wall Street is going to break these companies up, deservedly so.